Nine months into our weekly protests at Schumacher Furs, and the demonstrations are still going strong, drawing at least a couple dozen protesters throughout the day. Protesters hold signs, pass out literature, talk to passersby, dance, hula hoop, and spread our message of compassion for animals to whoever has an open heart. Meanwhile the Schumachers can always been seen sullen and scowling from within the store.
According to an Oregonian article last Friday, Schumacher has been warned by their landlord that unapproved signs (i.e. those aimed at protesters) must be removed within 20 days or they face possible eviction.  link to www.oregonlive.com
Schumacher currently seems to be trying to figure out how to stay within the letter of the law, as they are now hanging their "50% off during protest sale" sign from coat racks within the store, clearly visible from outside. This conflict between Schumacher and the landlord over signage and acceptable behavior seems to be a replay of what occurred months ago. But Schumacher remains as defiant and self-entitled with their landlord as they are with their industry's unethical practices towards animals, and as they are with the city (as evidenced by Schumacher's refusal of mediation, and Gregg Schumacher's quote in a recent monthly publication that Mayor Potter can "go fuck himself").
Desperate to sell fur in the summer, Schumacher now features fur vests and macramé-type shawls in the windows. A black fur shawl reminded us of something one's grandma might crochet, and one has to keep only in order to pull it out of the closet once a year to wear it to some family event. Proving once again that fur cruelty is not only unethical, but unfashionable.
As the world is changing and people become more cognizant of the cruelty behind the fur industry, compassionate people are donating their old fur items to charities. Orphaned baby raccoons, squirrels, and foxes, among others, are wrapped in donated fur items in wildlife rehab centers. link to www.boston.com Ironically, the very animals that are orphaned may be so because their mothers have been trapped by the fur industry. Their mothers may have spent up to a week in steel-jaw leghold traps, still in accordance with the law (which is difficult to enforce, regardless). Some animals chew their limbs off in an attempt to escape, some are attacked by predators, some dehydrate and starve, and some await death by the trapper's boot on the chest or a blow to the head.
To catch tree-dwelling animals such as squirrels, traps may be set in trees, where the animal must hang by her limb until the trapper comes to kill her. This indiscriminate trapping may also kill birds. None of the hundreds of animals it takes to make just one squirrel fur coat died a peaceful death. Who feels so entitled to create this much misery for a fashion item? For videos and info on the fur industry, see http://www.furisdead.com and http://www.furkills.org
If you're as outraged by the cruelty of the fur industry as we are, come join us each Saturday from 12:30 to 5:00 in front of Schumacher Furs (811 SW Morrison). Stay however long you want, and feel free to protest on other days of the week as well.
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